Sunday, February 11, 2018

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral expenses for all four victims. To donate, click here.

AGUA DULCE, Calif. (KABC) -- A witness who saw a small plane moments before it crashed in the Agua Dulce area - which killed four family members -- described the frightening moments before and after the tragedy occurred.Federal investigators were back at the scene of the crash on Monday, combing through the wreckage of the small plane that crashed in the mountain range of the area Sunday morning.There are a few homes a few acres away from where the plane went down. One man, who didn't want to be identified, described what he and his family heard and saw right before the plane crashed near his home."Here comes the plane right over the house, literally banks off to the right, really low. I mean, obviously, we're in a ravine in some mountains here, and it clipped the power lines, and it spun it around, and we didn't see anything else after that. We just got in the truck, brought a shovel, tried to get there as fast as we could. My dad and my neighbor were the first people there, and it didn't look too grim. It was a sad, you know, sad site," he said.Friends and family have identified the four on board as Tom Hastings, his daughter, Amber Hill, her husband, Jacob Hill, and the woman's daughter, 9-year-old Madison.Neighbors near the Hastings' San Fernando Valley home said the family enjoyed flying the plane that Hastings built years ago for the family to enjoy."He loved to fly, and they tried to fly on vacations as much as they could," said friend Jean Buetow. "He even extended his garage out on the side street there to make room for it. He spent all of his free time working on it, putting it together."While the investigation continues into what caused the crash, the man who described what he saw said he'll never forget what happened.

Thomas Hastings, the pilot of the plane that crashed, and Joyce Hastings, who was not on board. (Hastings family)

A small plane crashed in the rugged hills near Agua Dulce and the 14 Freeway in northern Los Angeles County on Sunday morning, killing all four on board, authorities said.The Cirrus VK-30 plane crashed near the intersection of Mesa Grande and Briggs roads on a hillside between the highway and Soledad Canyon Road, said Art Marrujo, Los Angeles County fire dispatch supervisor. The reports of the crash came in around 10:55 a.m., he said.The pilot was identified by a family member as Thomas Hastings, 65, who was returning to his Winnetka home after a weekend trip to Las Vegas with his daughter Amber Hill, 27; her husband, Jacob Hill, 25; and her daughter, Madison Hastings Saxelby, 9."They do this trip every couple months," said the pilot's son Jake Hastings, 30. "A routine, normal thing."It should have been an hourlong flight. Hastings began to worry when he didn't hear from his family an hour after they were due to arrive. He called his father and sister several times, but no one answered."I had an eerie feeling about it," he said.Soon after, Hastings saw photographs of the crash on the news, and he knew right away: it was his father's plane. He recognized the Cirrus VK-30 — one of nine registered with the Federal Aviation Administration — as the one his father spent nearly a decade building in their garage.He said the plane hit power lines before crashing about four miles from Agua Dulce Airpark.Thomas Hastings was an avid and experienced flier who obtained his pilot license before he could drive, at 15, with dreams of becoming a fighter pilot, his son said. He ended up working instead as a mechanical engineer and was about a year away from retiring from his job at Haas Automation.Since he finished building the plane in 1999, Thomas Hastings "traveled all around the world," his son said. The elder Hastings frequently volunteered for the Young Eagles program, which introduces youth to aviation with a free ride on an airplane."He's given thousands and thousands of rides," Jake Hastings said. "He just wants people to enjoy and love flying."He said his sister, Amber Hill, was a successful eyelash-extension artist who enjoyed family vacations with her husband and daughter. At school, his niece, Madison, was known as the "mad scientist," a nickname she earned after making clay objects and edible slime concoctions."They love each other so much and had a great life," Jake Hastings said.Recently, the family took the plane to Big Bear to celebrate Christmas. Most Fridays for the last couple of years, the whole family gathered for dinner."I got a chance to have so many experiences with them," he said.The crash scene is being turned over to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.The NTSB said in a tweet that the plane was a VK-30, a fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft sold by Cirrus Aircraft in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a kit plane when the company was known as Cirrus Design.The VK-30 plane is classified as an amateur-built aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration, meaning that a "major portion" of the plan was fabricated and assembled by the owner for his or her own education or recreation.The plane had undergone its annual inspection a month or so ago, the pilot's son said.Former U.S. astronaut Robert Overmyer was killed in a VK-30 kit plane in 1996, according to news reports from the time.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.latimes.com

Thomas Hastings, 65, is seen in a photo posted to his Facebook page. He was flying a small private plane that crashed near Santa Clarita on Feb. 11, 2018, killing him and three other people.

A small plane crashed in the rugged hills near Agua Dulce and the 14 Freeway in northern Los Angeles County on Sunday morning, killing all four on board, authorities said.The Cirrus VK-30 plane crashed near the intersection of Mesa Grande and Briggs roads on a hillside between the highway and Soledad Canyon Road, said Los Angeles County Fire Dispatch Supervisor Art Marrujo. The fire reports of the crash came in around 10:55 a.m., he said.The victims were only identified as three adults and one child.The crash site is about 4 miles from the Agua Dulce Airpark but it is unclear if the plane was arriving or departing from the small strip.Though the plane crashed, it did not catch fire, Marrujo said. The scene is being turned over to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet the plane was a VK-30, a fixed wing single-engine aircraft sold by Cirrus Aircraft in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a kit plane when the company was known as Cirrus Design.The VK-30 plane is classified as an amateur-built aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration meaning a "major portion" of the plane was fabricated and assembled by the owner for their own education or recreation.Former US astronaut Robert Overmyer was killed in a VK-30 kit plane in 1996, according to news reports from the time.The aircraft is relatively rare — only nine are registered with the FAA.Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.latimes.com

AGUA DULCE, Calif. (KABC) -- A child and three adults were killed Sunday morning when a small plane crashed in the Agua Dulce area northeast of Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.Firefighters and sheriff's deputies responded shortly before 11 a.m. to the 30500 block of Briggs Road, where the wreckage of the aircraft was seen just a few feet from the roadway. The remote location is about a mile southeast of the Agua Dulce Road interchange on the 14 Freeway."The aircraft, a Cirrus, crashed under unknown circumstances," said Allen Kenitzer, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.LACFD Battalion Chief George Cruz said the deceased were a child under the age of 10, a woman and two men. They were not immediately identified.The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident, Kenitzer said.Original article can be found here ➤ http://abc7.com

SANTA CLARITA, California -- Four people were killed Sunday when a small, home-built plane crashed near a mountain town in Southern California, authorities said.The private plane went down late Sunday morning in a remote canyon about 40 miles (73 km) north of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The aircraft broke apart and debris was strewn throughout dry brush alongside a dirt road near Agua Dulce.The fire department confirmed four fatalities and said the coroner and Federal Aviation Administration officials responded. The victims were not immediately identified.The single-engine plane was a Cirrus VK-30 classified as an experimental aircraft, according to FAA records. It's registered to Thomas G. Hastings, who built the plane in 1999, the online registry said. A message left on a phone number listed for Hastings was not immediately returned. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer confirmed the aircraft was a Cirrus, but he did not immediately have additional details about the crash about 40 miles (73 km) north of downtown Los Angeles. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, he said.

Witnesses said the engine was screaming, yet the plane was wings level in a steep descent. Plane impacted the 1-1/4 diameter power line, fracturing the cockpit, falling 100'. 3 blade Propeller clearly not spinning on impact. Mid-engine with pusher prop, unclear if it has some sort of driveshaft.

Wow, I just realized that this very plane has beautiful airborne shots in the movie "One Six Right"! Such a great loss for the aviation community and especially Van Nuys airport where I believe this aircraft was based.

Many pilots who aim for a clearing (when facing a forced landing) in hilly or dense terrain, may not suspect that the clearing they see is also an easement for power lines. . . . at least the "pusher" engine is unmolested and available for inspection.

I flew one of these several years ago, acted as co pilot for a cross country flight from NY to CA. The pilot / builder had accumulated just over 600 hours prior to our flight. While on approach in Kansas for refueling, we encountered an engine failure due to a failed rod bearing. We lost 90% of engine power while descending through five thousand, eight miles out on an ATC directed final. This particular airplane design suffers from a lousy glide while engine out, even with the prop feathered and, a critical CG if in fact you have an engine out. If the CG is aft, the nose up during glide requires full nose down trim plus pilot input. A poor glide to begin with coupled with substantial trim translates to picking an off airport landing unless you are circling to land within the runway environment.No idea of the events that led to this crash, but I can say from experience that if he had a power loss or malfunctioned prop .. he had his hands full to the last second. Passengers in the back seats may have loaded aft cg.